Author: Elizabeth Gilbert
Year of Release: 2019
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Release Date: June 4th 2019
Genre: Historical, Modern & Contemporary, Fiction, General Fiction, Fiction
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
“Let us not become so cautious that we forget to live.”
― Elizabeth Gilbert, City of Girls
Synopsis
In 1940, nineteen-year-old Vivian Morris has just been kicked out of Vassar College, owing to her lacklustre freshman-year performance. Her affluent parents send her to Manhattan to live with her Aunt Peg, who owns a flamboyant, crumbling midtown theatre called the Lily Playhouse. There Vivian is introduced to an entire cosmos of unconventional and charismatic characters, from the fun-chasing showgirls to a sexy male actor, a grand-dame actress, a lady-killer writer, and no-nonsense stage manager. But when Vivian makes a personal mistake that results in professional scandal, it turns her new world upside down in ways that it will take her years to fully understand. Ultimately, though, it leads her to a new understanding of the kind of life she craves-and the kind of freedom it takes to pursue it. It will also lead to the love of her life, a love that stands out from all the rest.
Now ninety-five years old and telling her story at last, Vivian recalls how the events of those years altered the course of her life – and the gusto and autonomy with which she approached it.
Beloved author Elizabeth Gilbert returns to fiction with a unique love story set in the New York City theatre world during the 1940s. Told from the perspective of an older woman as she looks back on her youth with both pleasure and regret (but mostly pleasure), City of Girls explores themes of female sexuality and promiscuity, as well as the idiosyncrasies of true love. Written with a powerful wisdom about human desire and connection, City of Girls is a love story like no other.
Review
1940 Vivian Morris was supposed to be receiving a college education at Vassar, only trouble is that Vivian just doesn’t fit the college mould, nor are these people Vivian’s people, one thing leads to another and Vivian finds herself excused from Vassar, her mother and father are unsure what to do for their daughter, so they send her to live with her Aunt Peg in Manhattan, New York.
Upon arrival in New York Vivian is taken to The Lilly Playhouse a run down playhouse owned by her aunt, within the first couple of days Vivian is exposed to a melting pot of people unlike any other she has met before.
She soon realises that she’s enchanted by this city and it’s people, finding work at the Lilly Playhouse as their costume designer in no time at all she is part of the fabric of the playhouse and the cities colourful nightlife.
Months pass without incident until Vivian makes a mistake that changes everything not only for herself but for the residents of The Lilly Playhouse and beyond. It’s one that Vivian and others will have to carry with them throughout their life’s.
I would find it hard not to pick up this book what with it’s bright cover and a synopsis that makes a reader want to pick up this book immediately and read until the last sentence. I believe for me location made for a solid sale of this book, New York has always been of great interest to me, just by reading the synopsis I knew this book would hold within its pages a story with heart, humour and flare.
City of Girls engages it’s readers right from the open pages Elizabeth Gilbert has mastered the idea of a letter to a friend I loved this, I found it made the story seem more personable to me as the eager reader I had a feeling of almost being involved in the stories progression perhaps it was myself Vivian was writing to? (Hey it could happen)
Nineteen year old Vivian Morris is flawed as she should be as we all are at this age I applaud Gilbert’s bravery in writing a character in the midst of self-discovery. It made for a nice change from the innocent daddy’s girl perspective.
Sometime in this particular portion of the story I did wonder if I the reader was ever going to move past this phase in Vivian’s life, don’t get me wrong it adds to details uncovered later on in the story so it is needed but I’m still wondering two days after finishing just how much detail was needed? As this made for a decent portion of the book in my opinion this made the story at times feel never ending. I love a long story but I also like to feel like the story is moving forward not just the pages.
So much time is covered here there are lots of events to choose from The Lilly Playhouse, the war years, entering womanhood, to lifelong friendship. For me the event that comes to mind now finally having read City of Girls is the friendship between Frank and Vivian it was so genuine for both parties and not based on sex but rather companionship this is so important call me old fashioned but I believe it gets over looked 99% of the time in books.
I believe that City of Girls being set in New York only added to it’s charm. I found Peg, Olive and Celia and ninety-five year old Vivian Morris and Frank to be the most memorable elements in City of girls.
If you were a fan of Ann Patchett The Dutch House, Jennifer Weiner Mrs Everything, Laura Prescott The secrets we kept, Taylor Jenkins Reid The seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo you should welcome Elizabeth Gilbert’s City of Girls to your bookshelf.
Reader’s note: If you’re not a fan of reading long drawn out descriptive writing and when it comes to your comfort I feel I should let you know beforehand if you struggle with small print for a long period? Might I suggest, that City of Girls might be better suited to you as an audiobook, electronic, or even in a large print format. Looking back on this City of Girls would have been on the read pile much sooner.